Leave the gate open
by jennaravenrose
Summary: When Eva's former lover returns to check on the family she left behind she finds that they didn't get the fairy tale ending they should have and someone is going to pay for that.
1. Chapter 1

Leave the gate open

She was nearing the end, so she tucked in her feet and rolled upon exiting. She came to a stop on her back and stared up at the blue sky. The first thing she noted were the trees, green leaves, and brown bark. That excluded quite a few places she had already been. She sat up and looked around. She sighed in relief when she realized the area was deserted. Slowly climbing to her feet she banished the gate.

Taking a deep breath, she started walking until she reached a strip of black concrete. Izzy smirked, wherever she was they had roads which meant vehicles. She heard the music before she heard the crunch of gravel from the tires. She stuck out her arm thumb raised and hoped wherever she was they had hitchhikers. She groaned when she saw the lights on top lowering her arm too late to avoid him pulling over. She softly swore under her breath when the man got out of the car and walked towards her.

"what are you doing out here? "said the cop

She thought quickly and came up with a plausible lie. She gambled on her looks making her appear younger than she was.

"I got in a fight with my boyfriend and he ditched me on the side of the road," said Izzy

The cop frowned and glanced back at his vehicle for some reason.

"you got an I. D. kid' said the cop

Izzy dug in her bag and pulled out a small flip wallet with a sheet of psychic paper inside. She concentrated for a moment then handed the folder to the man. He frowned down at the paper. "stay right here, I'm going to run this" said the cop

He walked back to his car and leaned over to grab his radio. Izzy watched him with a bored expression on her face. While she was watching the cop, she spotted movement in the back of his car. She sidestepped to get a better look at the other occupant of the cop car. An angry looking boy stared back at her. He looked like someone had tried to beat him senseless. The cop came back a few seconds later with an annoyed expression on his face. The trooper handed her wallet back to her.

"you check out and I'm not going to cite you for what I just saw considering the day you're having, but you need to find another way home miss," said the cop

He paused and looked back at the young man as if trying to decide something. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head and mentally she groaned. He must have been thinking about something when he looked at the paper. She saw the muscles in his neck tense and she quickly schooled her features back to placid and lost.

"I'll tell you what I don't like the idea of leaving a kid like you stranded out here, so since you two are headed to the same place I'll give you a ride as well," said the cop

She firmly resisted the urge to groan and instead deliberately looked around the cop at the boy. The cop saw the direction of her gaze.

"Don't worry about that one, he's cuffed good and tight, if he gives you any lip I'll handle it" said the cop

The boy gave the cop a fierce glare, and she could swear his eyes glowed red for a second.

"Is he dangerous?" said Izzy

She used her scared little girl voice because it always worked. She had to admit the boy was a bit scary looking. The cop snorted and patted his sidearm. Izzy noted absently that he kept the gun holster unlocked. She eyed the cop, now that she looked for it the man did reek of fear and something else. Izzy shrugged.

"I suppose a ride wouldn't hurt he is after all secure as you said, plus it is an awfully long walk' said Izzy

The cop nodded and Izzy followed him to his car. If worse came to worst she could always drop them both down a rabbit hole and take the car. The cop opened the back door for Izzy and she hesitated and looked back at the cop.

"Promise me you'll tell them I'm not under arrest," said Izzy

The cop chuckled

"I promise kid, now hop in I've got to get you two to St Lamia's orphanage before my shift ends," said the cop

She raised an eyebrow at the name. A lamia was a child eating demon. Who in their right mind would name an orphanage after such a creature? Izzy calmly climbed into the squad car and fastened her seat belt. The boy turned to stare at her, so she ignored him. The cop climbed into the front seat and started the vehicle. Izzy concentrated on the cop. Something was off about the man she could feel it.

She narrowed her eyes and triggered her sight. The man's image rippled and revealed a creature disguised as a man. The cop turned his head and met her eyes through the mirror. The cop tensed and the boy next to her did as well.

"You shouldn't have done that," said the cop

Izzy gave him a confused look because she honestly didn't care what the disguised creature was, she was more curious as to why it was hiding. The cop looked nervous for some reason and started to pull over again. Sensing his malevolent intentions she asked a question to throw it off guard. "what are you?" said Izzy

The boy gave her a surprised look. Izzy slowly snaked her fingers beneath the boy. He gave her a wicked grin, which she ignored. Just because he was sitting on the damn cuffs, didn't mean she intended to cop a feel on the boy's ass. Which she had to admit wasn't all that bad an ass but she didn't have time to go there right now.

Her fingers finally found the cuffs and she made the tumblers vanish. The cuffs slid open as she withdrew her hand. The boy caught her hand and squeezed it briefly before releasing it. The cop swallowed nervously.

"Why don't you ask the boy," said the cop

"because I'm asking you," said Izzy

"He's a lousy shit sucking demon," said the boy

The cop made a hissing noise and pulled over, he shut off the car.

"I've had just about enough of your lip boy," said the cop

Izzy calmly reached through the seat and removed the cop's sidearm without his noticing. The cop climbed out and passed in front of the vehicle to go to the boy's side. It pulled the door open rather violently making the hinges groan in protest. She was fairly certain the creature could pull the doors off if it wanted to. With a roar, it grabbed the boy and pulled him from the vehicle. She watched the creature's fist descend on the boy hard enough to leave a crater in the ground.

Izzy was now certain the creature meant to kill the boy.

The boy to his credit was attempting to fight back using only his fists. Which only served to enrage the creature further. So when the creature slammed him to the ground just outside the open car door, she shot the creature in the head.

It exploded into red goo, so Izzy climbed out to check on the kid. He was slowly climbing to his feet a little worse for wear but at least he was alive. He looked down at the fallen cop and frowned.

"You shot him?" said the kid

She gave him a wary look, uncertain if he was going to turn on her or not. She nodded yes. "Thanks, names Dante by the way," said the boy

"Izzy" she replied.

She walked towards the driver's side of the cruiser.

"What are you doing?" said Dante

She ignored him and pulled open the side panel to the cop's in-vehicle recorder.

"Oh," said Dante, understanding what she meant to do. He hit the back of the cruiser

"pop the trunk will you" said Dante

she debated doing so, for half a second, then hit the release button. The cruiser's trunk popped open and Dante rummaged around in the back. Izzy found what she was looking for. The system was wireless, so she sent just enough power through the feed to crash the system.

"you just about done there babe?" said Dante

"yes," she said and climbed free of the vehicle.

"Good we need to ditch this place, we should probably blow this piece of shit up so they can't track us," said Dante

He raised two huge guns in the direction of the car. She grabbed his wrists and tried to lower them.

"Let me handle it," said Izzy

He snorted but lowered the weapons

"Suit yourself babe but hurry," said Dante

He walked a few feet away and stopped obviously intending to wait for her.

"Go on, I'll catch up to you," said Izzy

She really didn't want him to see this because then she would have to explain it. He stubbornly crossed his arms, pulled out a cigarette put it in his mouth and lit it. She frowned at him. That was a horrible habit but it explained the smell of tobacco on him. She turned back to the car, and silently debated on if she should do this right in front of the kid or just let him blow it up.

Of course with an explosion, there was no way to really ensure that all the evidence was gone. She mentally groaned, her mind was made up and she started to open a gate directly under the car at its center. She spread it until it encompassed both ends of the car then opened the event horizon, the Teranu would enjoy that little treat and would make short work of any evidence, metal eaters were great like that. the car disappeared down the hole and she closed the gate. She slowly turned to look at the boy, who was staring at her in shock.

Well better he should know what he's dealing with, at least partially, it made threatening him that much easier. She started walking towards him. He took one last drag on his cigarette and then dropped the butt and crushed it under his boot heel. She rolled her eyes and started walking past the kid.

"how did you do that?' said Dante

She kept walking and the boy was following her. Great just what she needed a tag along.

"why do you want to know?" said Izzy

As she walked away, she flicked her fingers out to the side and made the cigarette butt vanish as well

"You just did it again, how are you.. "said Dante

She rolled her eyes, this is why she chooses one companion and sticks with them.

"again, why?" said Izzy

She stopped walking and turned to the kid.

"because you can see them can't you," said Dante

She fought the smirk and lost.

"yes," said Izzy

She couldn't see why that mattered.

"Most people can't," said Dante

"Except for you," said Izzy

The kid looked shocked for a few seconds.

"how did you.." said Dante

"Know that you could see them. I didn't you just confirmed it and I remembered you called it a demon. Only someone who could actually see it, would call it something like that." said Izzy

The kid stared at her in shock, so she once again resumed her trek. He caught up to her a few minutes later falling into step beside her. She rolled her eyes as the scent of cigarettes, sweat and something else that smelled vaguely of burning cedar washed over her. She frowned and waved her hand in front of her nose.

"eh gads what the heck was in those cigarettes, they stink," said Izzy

The boy gave her a strange look.

"just tobacco why?" said the kid

He fished the pack out of his pocket and looked it over with a scowl. He then eyed her warily for some reason.

"They smell like a damn forest fire that's why," said Izzy

She crinkled her nose in disgust and started to step away from the kid. She heard a clicking noise that sounded suspiciously like a gun cocking, she turned her head back to look at Dante. The boy was pointing both guns at her head.

"What are you?' said Dante

He looked calm, almost too calm as if he were asking the time of day not pointing two weapons at someone's head. His eyes betrayed nothing, no hint of emotion not even resignation.

"Are you planning to shoot me if I do not answer?" said Izzy

He clicked the safety off on both guns with his thumbs.

"yes," said Dante

She sized the boy up. He definitely meant what he said.

"why?" said Izzy

The boy frowned at her calm reply.

"What actions have I done that you would consider threatening?" said Izzy

The boy hesitated because truthfully she hadn't acted the least bit threatening unless you count shooting the cop.

"Are you a witch? Is that why you could see him too?" said Dante

She shook her head no.

"No, but I have been called something that rhymes with it," said Izzy

The kid smirked at her attempt at humor. She smiled back at the kid and then switched to her sight. The kid was a bunch of swirling energy patterns with the ghost of something monstrous held in check. She pulled back out and the kid stared at her nervously.

She examined him closely. Bravado, covering fear, and deep loneliness. Mingled with just a bit of self-doubt, was what she saw in his eyes now. The kid just needed a friend. Izzy sighed traveling with her was dangerous, much as she liked the kid. she didn't want to get him killed. "Now would be a good time to walk away kid," said Izzy

he snorted.

"I ain't your kid and I'm going nowhere until I get some damn answers, now quit stalling babe or I start shooting," said Dante

She turned back toward him. The problem was, she didn't know if she could trust him or not. Other than his first name she knew precious little about him as a person.

"then you are destined for much disappointment," said Izzy

she started walking away again. Waiting with energy at the ready for the boy to fire. She reached the treeline and he opened fire. She quickly gated each of the projectiles away before they came anywhere near her. He stopped firing and she turned. She leaned against the nearest tree. She smirked at the kid.

"are you through yet ?" she asked.

He got this angry look on his face and resumed firing. She did the same with these projectiles that she did with the others. Bored she examined her nails, while the kid attempted to empty his weapons into her. While examining her nails she noticed an ant trail walking down the tree trunk. She grinned wickedly and placed a microscopic sized gate right in front of the trail, she opened another right above the boy's collar.

The gunfire suddenly stopped and the swearing began. The boy was swatting at his neck and then suddenly he was stripping off his shirt. She giggled and he glared at her. She had to admit he had good muscle tone for a kid. He was shaking out his clothes, obviously trying to rid himself of the ants who most likely were biting him

"you did that" said Dante

"yep" said Izzy

popping the P at the end. The kid winced and reached for his belt buckle.

"would you like me to play some music?" said Izzy

The kid flipped her off and stripped off his pants. She couldn't help it she had to look and if he was going to show it, might as well enjoy the view. He must have noticed her stare because he was smirking again.

"enjoying the view babe?" said Dante

she smirked back

"yes," said Izzy.

He snorted and continued to furiously shake out his pants. She shook her head and started walking away again. It had been amusing but she had places she needed to be. The shot rang out and hit the tree right next to her hand close enough that she had felt the wind from its passage. She stopped walking, she was rapidly losing her patience with this kid.

What greeted her vision shocked her for half a second. The boy was standing there fully nude and pointing the guns at her again. She raised an eyebrow and chuckled, the kid had moxie she would give him that. She considered him for just a second then started walking towards him.

The kid frowned at her approach and looked incredibly confused. She closed the distance quickly and stopped right in front of him.

He still had the guns pointed in her direction, so she ended up stopping right against the barrels. He looked surprised and maybe a little wary.

"you really want answers kid?" said Izzy

"yes and I ain't-a kid," said Dante

She smiled at him.

"to me you are," said Izzy

"its called quantum tunneling, anything more would take a decade to explain," said Izzy

The kid looked confused.

"As to what I am, the closest explanation I can give is an alien, now if you'll excuse me I have business to attend to, "said Izzy

The kid looked completely shocked by her answers. She turned and walked away.

"have a nice walk home kid and put those guns away, all three of them," said Izzy

he stood there staring after her. By the time he had redressed Izzy was gone. She had gotten tired of dealing with the boy and had simply gated into another area closer to her destination, Paradise.


	2. Chapter 2

Gate 2

She stood in front of the sign. It was falling down and partially burnt. She sidestepped and looked down the road with a frown. The roadside sign had said Paradise 2 km. she reached up and cleared some of the char marks away. Was that a bite mark near the top? She shook her head to dispel that notion, what in its right mind would try to eat a sign? It most certainly said Paradise despite the wear and tear, so she started walking. By the time she reached the town; she knew something was wrong.

The streets were deserted and weeds grew through cracks in the road and sidewalks. Windows were broken and there were brown stains on some walls inside the stores. That wasn't what was the most unnerving, it was the lack of anything moving. No insects, wild animals or human roamed the streets. She stopped dead center in the street and looked around. She remembered this town from when they first moved here.

Ava had called the shops quaint and it had been picturesque. She walked a few more feet and stopped in front of the ice cream parlor. On impulse, she walked towards the door. She remembered this place too, she used to take the kids here every time she visited, the youngest liked strawberry sundaes. The door was unlocked, so she simply walked inside. The little bell above the door tinkled as she walked in announcing to the empty store that she had entered.

A thick film of dust coated everything, which had remained undisturbed until she entered. She thought about calling out but then shrugged off that idea. Izzy walked around the counter and into the back of the store. That is where she first smelt it. A light sickly sweet cloying smell.

She moved toward it and quickly found its source. A body was in the back of the store. It was desiccated which meant it had been there a while. Izzy squatted beside it and examined it closely. It looked like something had been eating the body, or else that was how the man had died. At least she assumed it was a man because what was left of the name tag on his uniform said Keit. Which was most likely short for Keith.

She slowly stood up and made her way further into the back and then out the back entrance. Now that she was looking for it, she found evidence of more dead everywhere she looked. She exited the alleyway and stopped. Someone or something had slaughtered all these people, really there was no other explanation for it. With a feeling of dread, she headed toward their house. It took her an hour to get there because she didn't want to gate with the state her emotions were in.

Her worst fears were realized when she reached the front gates. The wrought iron gates were askew as if something had ripped them off their hinges.

She stepped through the opening the broken gates formed and made her way toward the house. She climbed the front steps stepping over the remains of what looked like a servant.

The door was torn in two so she climbed through the hole. The front hall was littered with broken furniture and there looked like a fight had taken place there.

On some of the walls was a greyish black stain that she assumed was also blood. She pulled the gun out and moved further inward. Izzy made her way from room to room. The sense of dread had rapidly morphed into horror and worry. She pushed the door to the family room open with her toes. Once again there were signs of a fight. She stepped over fallen books in the library and another corpse. Even the family portrait was damaged.

Now she was checking the bodies closely making sure that none of them were Eva or her family. So far it had been only servants until she entered the kitchen. She stopped and gasped in horror.

"Eva!" said Izzy

Her voice was a pained squeak. Izzy felt her knees buckle at the shock, it felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her with an emotional sucker punch. She felt tears prick her eyes, a few seconds later she was openly sobbing for her lost friend and lover.

"I should have never let you stay, Ooh! I should have followed my instincts and dropped him into the nearest swamp the second he smiled at you that way" said Izzy

She slowly pulled herself to her feet and slowly dragged herself to Eva's side. Izzy wiped her eyes and forced herself to examine Eva's body with a detached air she was far from feeling. She was laid out on the kitchen table like some sort of macabre feast. Her chest had been ripped open and from the looks of it, her heart had been removed.

Izzy suddenly stepped away and emptied the contents of her stomach into the kitchen sink. She wiped her eyes and her nose and leaned her forehead on the sink edge. Whoever had murdered her had left her like that, and no doubt was responsible for the town. Izzy swore loudly and creatively.

This was all his fault Eva didn't have any enemies, Izzy had seen to that personally which left only those who had a problem with him. She loudly cursed his name because this was all his fault. He promised that he could protect Eva, that was the only reason Izzy had backed off and let them be together. In all honesty, she loved Eva and wanted her to be happy, he made her that way or so she thought. Swearing again Izzy went in search of the rest of the family.

After a thorough search of the grounds and the house yielded no bodies of the children or him, she made her way back into the house after grabbing a shovel from the garden shed. She pulled down what was left of one curtain and made her way back to Eva.

She laid the curtain on the ground next to the table then grabbed Eva's shoulders and tilted her off the table. She situated Eva on the curtain and dragged the curtain and Eva outside and into her garden. Izzy shoved the shovel into the dirt and slowly began to dig a hole for her friend between her roses and the pond.

It took her several hours to get a decent hole. Izzy struggled to tilt Eva into the hole and then slowly started filling it. She wouldn't have time to bury everyone else but she wasn't going to let Eva stay that way.

She moved the decorative stones from around the pond on top of the hole and moved one of the angel statutes to serve as a headstone. She dug into her bag and pulled out what looked like a pocket knife but it was actually a laser gem carver. She flipped it open and turned it on.

It made a soft humming sound and a slight whine as she carved Eva's name, birth date and the words "beloved beyond belief" into the statue's base. She closed it up and shoved it back into her bag.

Slowly Izzy stood up. The sun was going down and she didn't feel like sleeping here tonight. In fact, she really could use a drink. She opened a gate in the arbor and walked through. She came out in an alleyway. The sound of something shorting out drew her attention upwards to a camera on the wall. It looked off, but it was giving out a strange vibe.

Izzy pulled up her hood and walked out of the alleyway. She kept her head down as she blended with the crowd. She was after one thing and only one thing at the moment. She spotted the sign and made her way to the door. The doorman wisely chose to let her pass. Izzy slowly walked down the stairs. The lighting was horrible and the music was harsh but along the far wall was what she came for.

She made her way through the crowd and up to the bar. She was silently praying this world had whiskey. She waited at the bar for the bartender's attention then ordered a shot. She downed it and asked for another, the second the first was set in front of her. Someone giggled annoyingly behind her and Izzy barely resisted the urge to turn around and yell at her.

"Oh Dante show me more' said the giggler.

Izzy glanced up to the mirror behind the bar. She spotted a familiar dark head with several girls all hanging off him. She rolled her eyes when Dante responded with an offer to take them all home with him. The boy was ambitious had to give him that. She downed the glass and watched the boy exit with no less than six women hanging off him.

A drink appeared in front of her that she didn't order. She raised her eyes to the bartender.

"compliments of that gentleman over there," said the bartender

She turned to look where he was pointing and a man wearing a fedora tilted his hat in her direction. She downed the drink.

"Tell him I said thank you, but I'm not interested in company tonight," said Izzy

The bartender gave her a sympathetic look and went to fetch the next shot she ordered. She downed that one and decided that was enough for one night, time to call it quits. She slapped the money for her last shot on the bar, including a generous tip and headed for the door.

Part of her noted absently that the guy with the hat was gone and so was the girl that had been sitting next to him. She exited the bar and quickly wrapped her jacket around her frame.

The temperature must have dropped while she was inside or it was just this city. She started walking aimlessly. She really had no idea where she was going to spend the night and she truly didn't care. Perhaps she should have taken hat man up on his offer.

She heard the click of what sounded suspiciously like nails which most likely meant she had picked up company.

She made her way towards the nearest alleyway and waited for them. It only took them a few minutes to catch up to her. There were four of them and to all appearances, they could pass for human men. She recognized at least one of them from the club. One of the girls that had been hanging off Dante had turned him down right before they left.

She must have sensed something was off with the man or else Dante had intervened when he saw through the disguise. She sighed and turned to face the demons posing as men.

"Gentlemen is there something I can help you with?" said Izzy

The lead man grinned at her and she caught the sharp teeth hidden by that perfect smile.

"Yeah beautiful you can keep quiet, while we help you outta those clothes and if your really good and quiet, we'll let you live," said the leader

Izzy laughed at him and the man looked shocked for a few seconds. Izzy used the moment to draw a weapon out of one of her gates, glad she always kept an open one in her armory. The demon moved forward and then abruptly halted on the point of Izzy's blade.

"Perhaps you'd like to reevaluate that statement," said a new voice

Izzy briefly glanced in the direction of its owner. The man with the hat was standing there and he was armed.

"We saw her first," said one of the followers

"Actually no, you didn't," said the man

The leader growled something to his followers and they all turned toward the man, leaving Izzy with the leader. The leader stepped back suddenly and Izzy barely avoided a fist to the face. She swung her sword and was met by the leader's blade. It hissed in her face.

"I'm going to make you bleed," said the leader

She smirked and shot him in the stomach with the gun she had gotten from the cop earlier.

"You first," said Izzy

The creature staggered back and Izzy circled. Gun in one hand, sword in the other. The sounds of fighting drifted to her from where the guy in the hat had been. She didn't have time to glance in his direction to even see how he fared. The demon leader swung its sword or was that a claw at her face.

She bent nearly double backward to avoid losing her face. She snapped back up her blade aimed at its throat. Her blade never made it, because another sword parted the leaders head from its shoulders. The creature exploded into burgundy goo and collapsed in on itself. The man sheathed his sword in an almost samurai-like flourish then bent to retrieve his lost hat.

"Are you all right?" he asked

Izzy was slightly stunned; she felt like a damsel in distress, the man had handled all of her opponents and was completely unharmed.

"Ah yeah, thanks," said Izzy

He smiled and tilted his hat in her direction.

"Any time, you really shouldn't be walking alone at night," said the man

Izzy had started to walk away from him but stopped when he said that. She wasn't sure what his point was, because she always walked alone. He must have caught the confusion on her face.

"If you like I can escort you home, my name's Vergil by the way," said the man.

She smirked if he really knew where her home was, he wouldn't have made that offer.

"Izzy," said Izzy.

The sound of sirens sounded in the distance and they sounded like they were approaching. She considered briefly leaving him here to explain this but she quickly vetoed that as being too cruel. "Yeah sure it's this way," said Izzy

She turned towards the back of the alley. He hesitated and she nodded towards the bodies "unless you want to stay and try to explain that" said Izzy

"No, not really but there's no exit that way," said Vergil

She smirked at him and held out her hand to him.

"There's always an exit if you know how to make one," said Izzy

He took her offered hand and she opened a gate. Vergil stared in open-mouthed shock. She walked through tugging Vergil behind her and closed it in the alleyway.


	3. Chapter 3

Gate 3

They exited on a roof top several blocks away. Vergil stumbled upon exiting the gate but Izzy didn't. While he recovered, she turned around and left him there. He stared in shock at his surroundings.

"How did you…never mind, I could really use…"said Vergil

He turned and Izzy was already gone.

"Izzy?" said Vergil

He received no reply because Izzy had already left. She simply opened another door and walked through. She emerged on another roof and climbed down the fire escape to the ground. She exited the alleyway right next to a liquor store. With a sigh she entered, bought two large bottles of whiskey and left. She entered the alleyway again and emerged near the boardwalk. She remembered this place too.

She had spent the day here with Eva and her family. The boys built a castle out of sand and Izzy helped. She flopped down in the sand pulled one of the bottles out of the bag and opened the lid. It was time to drown some memories before they drowned her. She took a chug directly out of the bottle. The sun had gone down and the lights from the pier cast an eerie light on the beach. She glanced back at the rides.

They were lit up but not moving, in fact the only thing moving was a trailer. She could hear the rock music from where she was and hummed the tune under her breath between swigs. Whoever they were, they had good taste in music. She had finished off nearly the whole first bottle, when she drifted to sleep.

The sound of seabirds and shouting woke her. Izzy sat up and glared toward the sound. A blond was shouting into the door of a trailer calling the occupant every name in the book. Izzy took a swig and watched the woman flounce away. Izzy chuckled, yeah the walk of shame sucked. Two more women exited the trailer more silently than the first. A few minutes after that another woman emerged, she stopped to pull on her shoe at the end of the trailer. Must have been some party Izzy mused.

Another two women emerged calling their goodbyes to the person inside. Izzy smirked when she recognized giggles from the other night. So that was where the boy lived. Izzy took another swig of her bottle climbed to her feet and brushed the sand off of her skirt. She walked towards the pier and climbed the steps leading up to the path. She followed it up to the boardwalk area. She ducked through the opening in the fence and walked up to the trailer door.

She knocked on the trailer door. No one answered so she made a gate right through the door. He was laying on the bed, a sheet barely covering his lower half.

"Parties over babe; just get your shit and get out" said Dante

Izzy chuckled

"such a pity and here I took the time to bring party favors" said Izzy

His eyes flew open and he sat up.

"Izzy?" said Dante

"The same, got a hangover kid" said Izzy

He snorted and sat up, the sheet fell lower.

"No" said Dante

She took a swig of the bottle and sat down at the head of his bed.

"You want one?' said Izzy

She held out the half full bottle. He looked over at her and smiled. He took the bottle from her hand and took a swig.

"How did you find me?" said Dante

He eyed his guest noting the sand on her outfit.

"Spent the night on the beach, saw your... guests leave this morning" said Izzy

Dante frowned at her, something was wrong with her.

"How'd you know they were with me?" said Dante

"Saw you leave the club with them" said Izzy

He reached for his pack of cigarettes and hesitated.

"Go ahead, not really concerned with lung damage now"said Izzy

Dante set the bottle down and Izzy chugged about half of what was left.

"Whoa! there babe, slow down. Your gonna poison yourself or something" said Dante

He snagged the now mostly empty bottle out of her hand. She flopped back on the bed and stared at his ceiling for a few seconds. He stuck the cigarette in his mouth and lit it. He brought his knees up and sat watching her with his arms draped over his knees.

"you okay, babe?" said Dante

He knew she wasn't and she knew he was perceptive enough to know if she was lying.

"No!" said Izzy

She was on the verge of tears. He took a pull on his smoke.

"What happened?" said Dante

Izzy tried to hold back the tears.

"Dante what would you do if someone murdered the only thing you ever cared about?" said Izzy Dante lowered his smoke, let out a swear word as he deposited it in the ashtray. He shifted so he was leaning over her.

"I'd find out who did it and tear them apart piece by piece" said Dante

She met his eyes and smiled up at him, then on impulse she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down to kiss him. He responded without hesitation.

He looked surprised and slightly dizzy, when she broke the contact between their lips. He shook his head to clear it and she sat up.

She spotted the claw marks on his ribs and slowly traced them. He gasped and caught her hand. "easy babe" said Dante

Eva used to liken her touch to a live wire being slowly drawn across the skin. He closed his eyes briefly and stretched some. She watched the wounds vanish on his side. She slid her legs off the bed and started to stand up.

"Whoa! there doll, where you going?" said Dante

She kissed his cheek and he smiled and started to wrap his arms around her from behind. She leaned into him briefly and closed her eyes. What she was considering doing, she might not come back from. When she didn't protest or pull away he nuzzled into her neck. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him down to her.

"thank you Dante" said Izzy

"For wh..."said Dante

A knock at his front door interrupted whatever he was going to say. He swore and turned to answer the door. She watched him go taking the time to imprint that image on her memory before she vanished from view with a sigh of regret. She exited on the rooftop she had left Vergil on the night before. She stared out over the city leaning on the edge of the rooftop.

"piece by piece" she whispered

She tapped her fingers on the building's edge,

"but pieces of who?" said Izzy

She frowned and decided she needed answers. She needed to know more about him, so she could track down who hated him enough to do this. She made a gate and vanished through it exiting in an alleyway in Paradise. She headed for the public library first, which turned out to be useless, except for a small tidbit of info about the former owners of the mansion. She laughed out loud when she read the description of the owners, how could he be so stupid. She shook her head and decided to try the mansion.

She spent hours going over every inch of his domain. She steadfastly refused to step foot in Eva's domain, besides she was looking for clues on who hated him not her. She stopped in front of the damaged family portrait. Someone had carved his face out of the picture but they left his eyes.

"you know this would be so much easier if you could just tell me who killed Eva" said Izzy

The portrait stared blankly on.

"Great Izzandrekquea you've officially lost it, your talking to portraits now, next you'll be kissing movie stills" said Izzy

That is why she was currently standing outside of what used to be their bed chamber. She hesitated for a few minutes then cursed herself for a coward and walked in. The bed was huge and she could tell which side they slept on just by the indentations. She wandered around the room. Of all the rooms in the house for some reason the bedrooms had remained the least damaged.

"Now if I were him, where would I hide what I didn't want the rest of my family knowing about?" said Izzy

She studied every inch of the room finally coming to a stop in front of a wardrobe. She opened the door and moved the clothes aside. They were still in the way so she dumped them onto the floor. She checked the back looking for hidden panels or doors. She was beginning to get frustrated by her lack of success when she saw the two scrapes at the bottom side of the wardrobe. She knelt and examined them.

They didn't look like something a human had made or a tool. Izzy remembered that image she used to see superimposed over his face every time she used her sight on him. It used to unnerve her that Eva was laying with a monster, but the way he treated her was anything but monstrous. Izzy rested her hand so her fingers fit in the holes. Man he had huge hands she mused. The latch was however just out of reach because she lacked the claws he had. She smirked and simply removed the latch all together.

The panel dropped down and Izzy struggled to shove it out of her way. Fortunately she was skinny enough to fit into the small hole she made. She dropped inside and found a set of stairs under her feet. She followed them down until the light from the doorway vanished and she was forced to look for a torch in her bag.

After some thorough digging she found one. She pulled it out and flipped the on switch, nothing happened so she shook the blasted thing. Still nothing, so she figured the batteries must be dead. She unscrewed the lid and looked inside. She pulled out two very corroded batteries. With a grumbling sigh Izzy walked back up the stairs and down to the kitchen.

She rummaged through the drawers until she found some batteries. Izzy was thankful she bought the boys enough electronic toys over the years for Eva to always keep batteries on hand. She pulled open the last drawer and froze, at the back of the drawer was the cell phone she had given Eva. She must have been trying to reach it, when... Izzy closed her eyes briefly, then snagged the batteries and slammed the drawer shut. Izzy loaded them into her torch and turned it on. It lit up so Izzy went back upstairs and into the secret door.

As she descended the stairs she noticed the change in atmosphere the farther she went. That faint musky spice scent that reminded her of cloves, patchouli and ironically popcorn that was littered all over the house upstairs was stronger here. It must be his scent she had been smelling, and the lack of Eva's clean water scent meant she had never entered this room. Izzy shook her head because the smell was heady the farther she went.

She pushed on and the staircase opened into a room. She looked around with her torch for another source of light until she finally noticed an old fashioned lantern sitting on what looked like a desk. She crossed to it and frowned it contained an actual candle. Izzy knew she didn't have a lighter and Eva didn't have any matches in the drawers upstairs. With a sigh Izzy pulled power and touched the candle wick.

It promptly sprang to life with a crackle and a second later the wall sconces did the same. The lights revealed a desk and several bookshelves and large central area with strange markings carved into a circle. Some sort of work space perhaps. She moved toward the book shelf and reached for one with strange symbols on the outside. When she tried to pull the book free it wouldn't budge. It appeared to be stuck, so she grabbed it with both hands and tried to tug it free. Still it refused to budge.

"okay fine, probably nothing useful in there anyways" said Izzy

She grabbed the one next to it and it slid free easily. Okay that was weird. He was always a bit strange though. She opened the book and looked at the first page. It was a handwritten journal of sorts. She tried to read the first page but it was written in some other language. She went further back hoping some of it was in English.

"Great this probably has all the information I need, including the bastard's address, and I can't read a word of it" said Izzy

She flopped down in the huge chair with a defeated sigh and put her head in her hands. She gave a short scream of frustration.

"How the hell am I supposed to avenge them, if I have no idea who I am getting revenge on?" said Izzy

With an annoyed growl Izzy started searching for anything she could read. Unfortunately everything was in that annoying script. She had no idea why he even bothered to hide the room. Eva wouldn't have been able to read anything in there. She finally gave up when the candle got so low it sputtered. She tucked the journal under her arm, turned on her torch and blew out the lantern. Immediately all the sconces went dark.

She wondered briefly how he even found the lantern to light it in the first place, the room was pitch black without her torch. She climbed the stairs and exited into a darkened room. The sun must have gone down while she was down there. She stopped before leaving the room and stared at the bed. She would never hold Eva again but she was willing to bet her sheets still smelt like her.

Izzy walked toward the bed and drew back the covers. Right now she needed to be surrounded by something familiar, for someone preferably Eva to tell her everything was going to be all right. She sat down, then laid down, setting the book beside her on the bed. She buried her face in Eva's pillow and breathed in the soft familiar scent. It was comforting despite the fact she could smell him as well, so comforting that she drifted off to sleep.

The sounds of growls and yelps of pain awoke her. With a groan she climbed to her feet and walked out of the room. She followed the sounds to the courtyard, where she found several creatures fighting over one of the bodies. Izzy quickly ducked back out of view. One of the creatures, the smallest actually, kept trying to nab bites of the corpse and the others would snarl or bite him in response.

Finally the leader of the group growled something to the little one that sounded suspiciously like speech and then viciously attacked the small one. She heard the snap of bone and a whimper. The small one lay still so the others returned to their feast. After a few minutes the small creature started dragging itself away. It collapsed near her and she was sure it was going to die. It turned toward her and hissed

"human" at her.

"you speak English?" said Izzy

"Yes" it hissed back

She glanced at the others. Izzy thought about it, perhaps this was the help she needed. She opened a random page in the book.

"can you read this?" said Izzy

The creature turned dispassionate yellow eyes in her direction.

"yes" it said

Izzy gave it an exasperated look.

"well?" said Izzy

"What is in it for me?" said the creature


	4. Chapter 4

Gate 4

She looked out at the scavengers and weighed her options. The journal could hold the answers to all of her questions, or it could be a boring daily log. Either way she needed to know what it said. The only translator available may not be reliable. Still, she had to take the chance.

"Are you hungry?" said Izzy

The creature growled at her in response. She ignored the hostility and glanced at the group that had ousted him.

"I can help you with that, for a price of course" said Izzy

The creature glared at her then looked at the group for a moment.

"The price is the words?" said the creature

"The truthful translation of them" said Izzy

The creature narrowed its eyes at her.

"and if I do not?" said the creature

Izzy shrugged

"Then you are on your own" said Izzy

It glanced at the group of scavengers. Izzy had the feeling that when the group was done with the body; that they would willingly eat the little guy just for being weak.

"why?" said the creature

Izzy looked at the group

"Revenge" said Izzy

The creature eyed her for a moment then gazed at the group.

"I can understand that" said the creature

"good, so do we have a deal?" said Izzy

It looked at the group and at her.

"we have a deal" said the creature

Izzy smirked and pulled a shotgun out of one of her gates

"great, be right back" said Izzy

She walked toward the group and shot the nearest one in the back of the head. The others turned to face her and she noticed the one she had shot was getting back up. Okay time for a new plan, she pulled energy and charged the shells. This time when she shot them they exploded into red goo. She left the leader for last and shot it only to incapacitate it. It was writhing on the ground screaming in pain and calling her every name in the book by the time she walked back to the little guy.

"Your turn, find me when you're done" said Izzy

The creature had climbed to its feet and was now rushing toward the group leader. The fight lasted only a few seconds, as the little guy tore into its tormentor and didn't stop even when the larger one was clearly dead. Izzy watched dispassionately as the small one ate first the leader, then moved on to its fellows. She would have to keep a close eye on this new ally just to make sure he didn't try to eat her.

She waited inside the family room for the creature to finish. She lit the few oil lamps that remained unbroken in the room while she waited for it. She heard the scraping of its clawed feet a few minutes later. It paused in the doorway and looked around nervously.

"You should not be here, this place is cursed" said the creature

"Do you have a name?" said Izzy

She was examining the creature closer, now that she could fully see it. It vaguely resembled a wolf mixed with a hyena, except it could walk on two legs. It growled at her again.

"No" it replied.

Izzy smirked at its response.

"Would you like one?" said Izzy

It tilted its head to regard her, obviously stunned by the question.

"Yes" said the creature

She considered it closely for a few seconds

"Great from now on you are Brwydrwr" said Izzy

He considered it.

"Brwydrwr" it said, trying out the sound of it, then he nodded.

"I like it" said Brwydrwr

"It means fighter in welsh,my name's Izzy by the way. Shall we get started, this is a bit thick" said Izzy

The creature nodded and moved closer to her. She opened the book and set it on a table she had righted, it was the only piece of furniture in the room that hadn't been obliterated by the attack. Up close and personal she could smell the rotted flesh on his breath. It took all of her self control not to gag. He leaned over and started reading.

"When I first met the creature that called itself Izzy, I thought it was a strangely dressed human. I still hold that she dresses strange, but I know now that she can't possibly be human. She is something else, something wondrous, terrible and beautiful at the same time. The affection she showed my Eva wasn't feigned in the slightest, and I often found myself wondering what exactly their relationship was, because I sensed a deep seated hatred in her for me from the start" said Brwydrwr

Izzy frowned, she wasn't expecting the passage to be about her.

"You are the Izzy?" said Brwydrwr

She nodded yes.

"Skip ahead some" said Izzy

"We quarreled for the first time in nearly a millennium of serving him. I questioned his need to subjugate the humans. He accused me of being weak and in my rage I struck him. I fear my relationship with Mundus will never be the same" said Brwydrwr

He quickly stood with a hiss.

"Where have you retrieved this from?" said Brwydrwr

"This house, it belonged to the master of it" said Izzy

Brwydrwr hissed and backed away from the table.

"No more, I will read no more of the traitor's words "said Brwydrwr

"Traitor? Is that what happened here?" said Izzy

Brwydrwr flipped the book over and then drew his hand back with a sharp hiss as if he had been burned.

"You have tricked me" said Brwydrwr

She shrugged.

"Relax, he won't know you even talked to me, now out with it. Why is Sparda considered a traitor?" said Izzy

The creature eyed her warily.

"It was because he mated with the angel bitch and he sees everything, I am so dead, keep your name you crazy whore; no amount of fresh meat is worth his wrath, deals off" said Brwydrwr

With that statement he bounded out of the room. Izzy went to the window and watched it streak across the grounds at a dead run.

"Mundus huh, well at least now I have a name" said Izzy

She closed up the book and left the house. She had some planning to do and she needed to get out of this place. She rushed upstairs and secured the hidden room. She didn't trust Brwydrwr not to sell her out the first chance he got, and the last thing she wanted found was his hidden stash. She gated out of the house and into town. She grabbed a backpack to hide the book and shoved her bag on top of it. If for some reason she was searched, she could always gate the book to a safe location.

She gated out of the area and to the pier. She stared in shock at the damage.

"What the hell?" said Izzy

There were cops hovering around the area so Izzy blended into the small crowd and walked down the street. She stopped by a bus stop billboard for some drink named virility. A kid walked by holding one and she caught something out of the corner of her eye as the liquid poured down her throat. Well that explained how the populace hasn't noticed the monsters walking amongst them. What had Brwydrwr said, he sees everything.

She looked up and noticed every so many feet there was a closed circuit camera. A plan was beginning to form in her head. First eliminate his control, which meant virility was going out of business. Next she would blind him. She heard someone mention Dante's name and turned toward it. It was a newscast reporting on the damage to the pier. Great the kid was wanted for terrorism now.

Which led her to the third thing on her list, sheep must be led, which meant the media must be shut down or taken over. After Mundus was scared ,confused and blaming someone else for his troubles, she would then eliminate him as a threat; after she burned everything he cared about. She started walking. First things first, if she was going to halt production of that poison she would have to do it all at once, which meant she needed to know where the factory locations were.

She spotted a group of teenagers getting off a school bus, so she blended in with the group. A field trip, their timing couldn't be more perfect Their harried teacher never even noticed the addition to their party as they were all ushered into the factory. Izzy paid close attention to what the tour guide said especially when one of the kids asked about the other factories.

The woman foolishly told her all of the cities she would need to hit and Izzy shoved the flyer into her pocket that contained the main office's address. The free sample she tossed, and the second the tour was over, she got lost in the street crowd before she ended up on the school bus.

She crossed the street at the light and noticed in the window that she was being followed by a young girl. Normally she would simply ditch the tail, but for some reason this girl looked familiar. Izzy ducked into an alleyway and vanished through a gate. She gave the girl time to enter the alleyway, then Izzy exited the gate near the mouth of the alley. The girl had her back to her and was staring at the empty alley. Izzy leaned on the wall.

"Who are you, and why are you following me?" said Izzy

The girl visibly jumped and Izzy smirked

"I'm Kat, I'm a friend of Dante's, we've been trying to find you" said Kat

Izzy tilted her head to regard the woman.

"Dante has a lot of female…friends, why would he be trying to find me?" said Izzy

"I don't know he seemed worried about you, look just come with me and they can explain it" said Kat

Izzy raised an eyebrow.

"They?" said Izzy

The girl hesitated as if she were about to betray some trade secret or something. Izzy had a feeling this information shouldn't be shared where anyone, but them could hear it.

"Hold on, tuck and roll when you reach the end" said Izzy

"The end of…"said Kat

Izzy shoved her through a gate. Kat exited by landing face first in the grass, Izzy's landing was a bit more controlled.

"What the?" said Kat, she was spitting out grass

"Some things shouldn't be discussed in front of others" said Izzy

"Where are we, how did you..?" said Kat

"Field thirty miles from town, hard to explain. Now out with it why are they looking for me and who is they, keep in mind if you lie to me you're walking home?" said Izzy

"Dante and his brother, my boss are looking for you, because you can help them" said Kat

"Help them with what?" said Izzy

Kat bit her bottom lip and didn't answer.

"They would have to explain it" said Kat

"Sorry I don't have time to join the rebel alliance, I have things I need to do" said Izzy

She conjured a gate next to the girl and started to walk away.

"Why did you bury their mother and no one else?" said Kat

Izzy stopped abruptly and rocked back on her heels.

"What's his brother's name?" said Izzy

"Vergil why?" said Kat

Izzy stopped and chuckled. It figured she would meet them and not know them.

"So I knew you weren't lying, and because she was the only one that mattered to me" said Izzy The girl gave her a confused look. Izzy didn't feel like explaining any of it to the girl or the boys. It was enough that they were alive.

"Wait, aren't you going to talk to them?" said Kat

Izzy sighed and made a second gate. She would, but they most likely would try to talk her out of this.

"I'll find them when I am through, for now just tell them there's a storm coming" said Izzy

She vanished through the door. Leaving the girl in the field with her other gate.

Izzy exited inside the factory, she chose the one that was the furthest away as her first target. She grabbed a smock and badge off a hook as she passed. She moved through the employees without any of them even really noticing her presence. She made her way to the heart of the factory. She climbed the catwalk and stood above the manufacturing floor. She walked to the other side and vanished through a door, spotted a fire alarm and pulled it.

She heard shouting from below and the sound of running feet. Izzy retraced her steps back out onto the catwalk. The manufacturing floor was mostly empty now. A few stragglers remained so Izzy addressed them

"Ladies and gentlemen, now would be the time to run" said Izzy

They looked up at her in shock and one called security on her. Izzy chuckled and opened a gate in the center of the room. The pieces of machinery started to vanish into the hole, someone screamed, and now all of the stragglers were running for the exit as the floor and everything on it literally vanished under them. Izzy didn't wait to see the end, she gated herself to the next factory and repeated her previous actions.


	5. Chapter 5

Gate 5

It wasn't until she reached the third of the factories, that they tracked her down. She really shouldn't have been surprised that they had shown was walking through the hall on the way to the bottling floor. She had noted the warehouse where they kept back up stores. Her sight revealed a black cloud over the stacks of cases which meant they had to go, along with all the other warehouses. She added them to her internal list and made her way into the bottling area. As she reached the fire alarm on the upper level, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

She swore when she spotted her. Damn it, what the hell was the girl doing here? The girl moved forward and that's when Izzy spotted Dante with her. They got on the escalator together and Izzy groaned. Great way to complicate things, kids. Now she had to make sure they got out before she dropped the equipment. They walked into a door marked employees only and Izzy smirked. She was after all dressed like an employee. Unfortunately, they weren't, which meant security would most likely stop them.

So Izzy followed them. She had to admit just a small bit of curiosity to what they were doing here. Izzy could be very quiet when she wanted to. Which was why she was quite surprised when Dante stepped out behind her.

"Don't scream" said Dante "Really, because I could have sworn you liked them vocal," said Izzy "Izzy?" said Dante "Hey kid, hi Kat," said Izzy

Dante lowered his guns. "What the hell are you doing here?" said Dante

He seemed offended or just a bit worried, she never could tell with either of them. "Putting virility out of business, you?" said Izzy "The same, you shouldn't be here," said Dante "We have to kill the succubus on the lower level," said Kat "Great let's go kill a succumbi, sucube, yeah whatever she just said," said Izzy

Dante glared at Kat. "Izzy you need to go home, let me handle this," said Dante Kat cleared her throat and Izzy chuckled. "That would be us kid, forgetting a ladies presence isn't all that endearing, luv," said Izzy

Dante scrunched up his face and looked like he intended to start yelling at her. "You three halt, what are you doing up here?" said a guard

Yep, she knew they were going to get caught.

"Discussing the merits of your mother getting a boob job, though I still say it's like hanging a new chandler in a haunted house," said Izzy

The guard blinked in shock, Dante chuckled and Kat giggled. Izzy reached out and snagged his pass. "Hey, what the.. give that back or …I'll shoot you," said the guard

The guard drew his gun and Dante drew his weapons, the two stared each other down. "I wouldn't do that bob, you've obviously never fired that weapon in your life, so we can't really trust your aim. You really wouldn't want to hit an innocent bystander now would you? " said Izzy

"No, how do you know my name?" said Bob Izzy held up the tag. Bob grabbed the gun with his other hand and nervously bit his bottom lip. Kat looked at Izzy and then at the two men.

If bob fired she was too close to the action to avoid being hit.

"How long has it been since you've had a vacation bob?" said Izzy Both Dante and Kat stared at her in shock. Izzy ignored them and focused on Bob. "Ah a year I think?" said Bob, his hand was shaking on his weapon.

Izzy noted that Dante seemed to scare the man for some reason, she was pretty sure it was the boy's calm demeanor. Dante honestly looked like he could put a bullet in someone, and walk away whistling a cheery tune.

"Bob?" said Izzy The man turned toward her and pointed the weapon at Izzy instead. Izzy calmly rested her hand on the barrel and shoved it down somewhat, so if it did fire it would hit her and not Kat. Dante shifted and gave her a nervous glance. She could tell the boy was worried now about her.

"Do you have a family Bob?" said Izzy Dante glared at her and Kat just looked confused. "Yeah a little girl, name's Christie why?" said Bob Izzy smirked. "I take it she's at school right now?" said Izzy Dante and Kat were giving her confused looks."Yeah she is, she's on the honor roll at St Ignes why?" said Bob

"Enjoy your vacation Bob, and buy something nice for your daughter," said Izzy A second later Bob disappeared through a hole in the floor. Izzy opened a second gate across town at the same time at St Ignes and Bob's daughter Christie fell through the hole. Dante and Kat stared at her in shock while she fastened Bob's security ID to her lapel.

"Where did you send Bob?" said Kat "Figi or Barbados I think, it was an island anyway," said Izzy, "You think?" said Dante Izzy shrugged."But what about his daughter?" said Kat "Arrived right after him" said Izzy

Dante put his guns away and gave Izzy an incredulous look. "How do you know you got the right kid?" said Dante "Pulled the image and classroom from his head, so where were we?" said Izzy "Going to kill the succubus," said Kat

Dante glared at her then swore when Izzy walked out the door. They quickly followed her out of the door. Izzy calmly made her way through the factory and to the stairs. She used Bob's key card to get them past the security keypads and into the lower levels. She swiped the card for the last door and Dante stopped her from entering.

"I go on alone from here," said Dante He gave Kat a look and then looked at Izzy. "You have an hour until I drop this building," said Izzy Dante nodded in understanding. "Kat stay with Izzy, I'll be back soon," said Dante "But, I can help," said Kat in protest "Not in limbo, don't worry babe I've got this," said Dante

Then he walked through the door closing it behind him. The lock made a clicking noise and Izzy reached for the badge concerned that Dante would be trapped there. The badge, however, was no longer on her label. Izzy turned toward the small window in the door."Dante?" said Izzy He held up the key card so Izzy could see.

"But how are we going to...ah right," said Kat "So what are we going to do while he kills that thing?" said Kat Izzy stopped at the door. "Causing a distraction so he has time to do it," said Izzy "What kind of distraction?" said Kat

Izzy gave her a wicked smirk. Izzy pulled a block of explosives out of her pocket "The kind that goes boom" said Izzy

Kat chuckled and followed Izzy through a hole Izzy made in the wall. They exited in the storage warehouse and Izzy calmly made her way to the center support. Kat looked around nervously at the few people in the room. Izzy calmly placed the bomb. "Won't they spot it?" said Kat in a whisper.

Izzy smiled at her and waved her hand over the device, which vanished before their eyes. Kat's mouth dropped open in shock. Izzy motioned for Kat to follow her and they walked away from the device. Once they were out of earshot of the people in the room Kat hissed.

"Why blow it up, when you're going to drop it in a hole?" said Kat Izzy turned towards her. "Because there are some things my friends will not eat," said Izzy Kat frowned and looked confused. "It will vaporize the contents, my friends eat metal and nothing else," said Izzy Kat once again looked shocked. Izzy opened the door and they walked to the far end of the factory passing through the mixing room again.

Almost to where Dante had gone before they heard the loud rumble. The building shook and the lights flickered. Izzy calmly pulled the fire alarm as she passed one. "The people?" said Kat "Perfectly fine as long as they weren't standing next to it," said Izzy Kat gave her an appraising look. "How do you know Dante?" said Kat

Izzy smirked because she caught the jealous undertone in that statement. "I'm a friend of his mother's, how long have you been interested in them?" said Izzy "Them?" said Kat "Dante and Vergil," said Izzy Kat looked away nervously. "I ah.. I'm not interested in both of them…we're just friends" said Kat

Izzy chuckled at the girls nervous dissembling. "Yeah you are, and I don't blame you they are both incredibly handsome, devilishly charming young men. There's no reason to be embarrassed about it, besides they like you too" said Izzy Kat looked skeptical.

"Dante maybe, but Vergil, he's a bit harder to read I don't think he's interested in more than friendship," said Kat She seemed disappointed by that statement. Izzy smiled she had caught the wistful undertones to her words.

"Vergil has always been hard to read, I guess it is because he is closer to his father personality-wise," said Izzy "You knew their father?" said Kat Izzy nodded yes. "What was he like?" said Kat

Izzy paused she was unsure how to answer that. Sparda and her never really got along, Izzy had always thought he tolerated her presence for Eva's sake, but according to his journal he seemed almost fond of her.

"He took a while to warm up to you, trust wasn't something he gave lightly. He had a low tolerance for stupidity, just like Vergil. He was quick to defend those he perceived as weaker than him and he had an innate sense of honor almost like a warrior's code." said Izzy

"You never got along with him did you?" said Kat Izzy chuckled kid was perceptive that was for sure. "No, I blamed him for taking her away from me, I guess I was just jealous," said Izzy "You and Eva were lovers?" said Kat

"Yeah among other things," said Izzy Kat frowned at her and was about to ask something when the air around them shifted. "Limbo," said Kat She turned expecting to see Izzy in the place she was, the real world with only a window into limbo. What she saw was Izzy and she seemed to be in two places at once.

"What the…?" said Kat Izzy shrugged off the young woman's concern. "Its a bit complicated, I'll explain later," said Izzy "You can move in both worlds just like Dante are you a Nephilim?" said Kat Izzy shook her head no. "Closer to an alien kid, now we should really check out why we've been pulled in to limbo too," said Izzy


	6. Chapter 6

Gate 6

They made their way through the upper rooms of the factory until they came to a door with no handle that appeared to be locked. The door was marked research and development. Curious as to why it had only a keypad by the door and why the door seemed to be made of reinforced steel. Izzy opened a portal next to the panel and walked through it, followed closely by kat. Izzy froze in shock.

In front of her were rows upon rows of humans all of them hanging from the ceiling on what looked like some hooks. They all had tubes shoved down their throats as well as ones coming from their sides. Izzy walked closer to them and examined the ones closest to her." what are they doing to them?" said kat she was staring at what looked like he had been a teenaged boy at one time. Now the kid looked like he was dying of starvation and showed signs of torture as well.

"force-feeding them whatever that is and then harvesting it back from their kidneys I think," said Izzy One of the doors at the end of the hall opened and a couple of scientists walked in. Izzy motioned for kat to step out of view, she wanted to see what they were intending to do. One of the scientists moved towards one of the prisoners.

"this one is gone cut him down and dispose of him," said the scientist the guy with the scientist hit a button on the pole next to the man. Izzy glanced at the pole next to her and noted the buttons there for the first time. The button connected to some sort of pulley system that lowered the man's corpse to the ground.

With a grunt, the man picked up the body and threw it over his shoulders. Izzy growled under her breath then promptly dropped man and corpse through a hole that landed him in the center of times square with a dead body on his shoulder, right in front of a shocked cop.

"what the hell?" said the scientist. Izzy closed the distance between them and pulled a sword from one of her gates and promptly stabbed the man. He stared in shock at the blade sticking out of his chest before he keeled over and died.

"what about the..?" said kat she looked at the prisoners and then back at Izzy. There was no way she could get all of these people out of the building before she dropped it plus most of them looked like they would be unable to stand on their own let alone walk. Even if she dropped them all right at the doors to an emergency room odds are very few of them would make it."Izzy?" said kat She looked down unable to meet the girl's eyes because she didn't want to even think about what she was being forced to do.

"We can't just leave them like.." said kat "move away from them please," said Izzy she kept her voice calm but inside she was screaming in rage. As soon as kat was clear Izzy started making the pully system that was holding them up vanish and drop them down a hole. Other than killing them outright it was the only thing she could do.

She knew some would not make it but that was beyond her hands "where are you sending them?"said kat "to several hospitals in the area"said Izzy even though she was working as fast as she could Izzy could see that some were going to end up being left behind so she started picking and choosing the healthier members of the group and sending those through first. The air shimmered and she was pulled the rest of the way out of limbo. Izzy quickly dropped the rest through several holes and then left the room. Kat slowly followed her out.

Izzy was pissed she had been forced to do something so horrible. She raised her hands ready to drop the floor out from under all of the manufacturing equipment, people and all at the same time.

"aren't you going to give them a chance to run?" said Kat

Izzy gave her a look because inside she was seething and didn't see anyone here as a potential innocent, not after what she had witnessed upstairs.

"Izzy some of them may not have known," said Kat

"may not have known what?" said Dante

"that they were torturing people to produce this poison," said Izzy

Dante licked his lip and replied

"then we should free them," said Dante

"there's nothing to free kid," said Izzy

"she wants to just drop the building with everyone inside," said kat

Dante hesitated and Izzy could tell he was struggling to remember anything about her that could convince her to be merciful. With a sigh, Izzy walked to the rail and addressed the remaining stragglers.

"now is your only time to run, do it!" said Izzy

a couple of people reached for phones and Izzy growled in irritation then started making equipment disappear. Apparently watching huge pieces of machinery vanish into a hole in the floor was enough to shake them out of their stupor. Some of the people saw the hole was slowly widening and they screamed. People started to run and Izzy kept going. Her gate was slowly widening to take up the room and was heading for the supports to the catwalk she was currently standing on.

"Izzy?" said Dante

she conjured an exit next to them

"go I will be right behind you," said Izzy

kat saw the end of the catwalk vanish and then the first few stairs broke away. The railing swayed.

"kat go, we will follow," said Dante

Izzy was still standing at the rail. She was clenching the metal so hard her fingers were white. Kat hesitated unsure if she should leave them.

"Izzy, I'm not leaving without you," said dante

Izzy lowered her head. The gate was extending to the walls and they were starting to vanish. She turned, the kid had his hand out to her and kat was still standing there by the gate. He was pleading with his eyes for her to come with them.

Izzy realized that she must look somewhat suicidal now because she saw fear in his eyes as well. With a sigh, she redirected the gate to outside and took Dante's hand. Kat walked through the gate ahead of them. They came out in an alley across the street. People were still fleeing the factory as the whole building was sucked into a giant sinkhole that Izzy closed as soon as the last tower vanished.

"holy crap!" said kat

"Where to?" said Izzy

she went to conjure another gate and Dante used the grip he still had on her hand to pull her close.

"dant…," said Izzy in protest when the boy suddenly kissed her.

"Sorry don't know why I just did that, just don't leave okay," said Dante

He pulled back reluctantly

"wherever we go, we need to stay together," said kat

she gave Dante a strange look and Dante nodded at her. Izzy sighed and opened another gate. It seemed the boys had no intention of letting her do this alone. She started for the new gate and Dante and Kat did too. Dante was still holding her hand in a grip that was almost painful.

The boy seemed reluctant to release her as if he feared she would vanish the second he did so. The kid was most likely right on that one, but she humored him just the same. They exited on another rooftop this time at the edge of the city.

"Vergil will want to know what happened," said kat

Izzy snorted and walked past her. Dante stayed at her heels for some reason.

"We have three more factories," said Izzy

"no, we need to go home and you need to rest and get your head straight," said Dante

Izzy snorted again, she knew this was going to happen boy was definitely Eva's kid. Izzy resisted the urge to remind the boy his home was in the bay.

"but without the succumbus, they will be useless," said kat

"do you really want to bet that they only have one?" said Izzy

Both of them gave her a look as if they had never even considered it.

"no, we take out their whole supply and everything they can use to make more, then we stop," said Izzy

kat bit her bottom lip and looked at Dante. He stared at Izzy as if trying to gauge the merits of her argument. She could see the boy wavering. If it was in her favor she couldn't tell.

"kat's right we need to talk to Vergil if they have more of those things he might be able to help us figure out where they are," said Dante

Izzy wanted to groan out loud. Great more complications. She leaned her head back.

"Izzy?" said kat

The girl was biting her bottom lip and eyeing Izzy with a wary expression. Izzy sighed she probably scared the girl back there.

"fine, how do we find Vergil?" said Izzy

"that's easy he's…." said kat

Izzy spotted the camera before the girl could finish the sentence and quickly covered her mouth.

"not here," said Izzy, She nodded towards the camera.

Dante drew his guns and aimed at the camera. Izzy shook her head no, instead, she waved to it then flipped it off then promptly made them all vanish. They reappeared in the same field Izzy had taken kat to.

"what the? Warn a person next time" said dante

Izzy chuckled because this time he landed face first instead of kat.

"now where do we find Vergil?" said Izzy

"where the heck are we?" said dante

he pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off, giving Izzy a glare the whole time he was doing it

"field thirty miles from town," kat and Izzy said at the same time

"he's in a warehouse down by the docks, it's the order's headquarters," said kat "the order, he's gone religious?" said Izzy

"no not hardly, they're like this underground rebel movement," said dante

Izzy chuckled at his description because he sounded anything but impressed by his brother's work.

"They are fighting to free humanity from the clutches of demonkind," said kat

she sounded fanatical and Izzy chuckled.

"clutches of.. who even says stuff like that?" said dante

kat gave him a hurt look.

"how long have you been in love with him?" said Izzy

Dante gave kat an appraising look.

"for a few years… wait..what... I'm not in love with him. We're just friends" said kat the girl was bright red so she wasn't that believable at the moment.

"ah huh," said dante

he gave Izzy a look and she smirked.

"great docks it is, let's go say hi to Vergil shall we?" said Izzy

she opened a portal and started walking toward it. Dante grabbed her hand before she could step through. She smirked at him and stepped through, kat followed. Instead of taking them to the alley; Izzy took them right into the warehouse. She stepped out of the portal and into a ring of guns facing her. She held up her hands in mock surrender.

"Take me to your leader," said Izzy in mock seriousness

Dante stepped out behind her and so did kat and the weapons slowly lowered as Vergil crossed the room toward them.

"Izzy?" said Vergil

"hey verge long time no see," said Izzy

he smiled at her

"You haven't changed one bit," said Vergil

"nope you two certainly have, "said Izzy

"Dante, I can't believe you found her," said Vergil

"actually she found us," said dante

kat responded to Vergil's unspoken query.

"she was already there, she's responsible for the sinkholes," said kat

Izzy snorted and walked past a couple of Vergil's friends or at least she tried to because Dante still had a death grip on her hand.

"you mind sugar, I'm starting to lose feeling," said Izzy

Dante reluctantly released her hand.

"sorry was afraid you'd run off again," said Dante

Izzy turned and regarded the kid. He looked worried about something. She wandered toward the mask on a stand and briefly picked it up, placing it against her face for a moment

"I'm not going anywhere sweetheart, relax," said Izzy

she turned back to the symbol Vergil had on the wall and smirked. The boy was using a signal of her house as his crest for his order.

"where did you get this?" said Izzy

Vergil smiled at her.

"it's the symbol for the order, why?" said Vergil

Izzy chuckled and moved toward Vergil. The man eyed her warily.

"because it's the symbol for my house or more accurately it's my last name," said Izzy

Vergil looked momentarily shocked. Izzy reached out and touched the swirl pattern on one side.

"These markings are letters, you read them from the center outward," said Izzy

"ah I didn't know that, do you want me to take it down?" said Vergil

she shook her head no

"no leave it, I have no objection to its use. Considering what you are trying to accomplish here I am flattered to be associated with it" said Izzy

Virgil's cheeks were slightly pink.

"so what does it say?" said kat

"yeah what is your last name, I don't think we ever heard it," said Dante "storm bringer," said Izzy

"what's Izzy short for?" said kat

Izzy turned to regard her. The young woman was perceptive. "Izzandrekquea, "said Izzy

Dante made a face

"I think we'll stick with izzy," said dante

"So how did it go?" said Vergil

"kat was right about the succubus but we almost got nabbed by security trying to reach it," said Dante

"almost?" said Vergil

"Izzy took care of it and snagged us a pass to boot," said kat

the other people in the room were staring at Izzy.

"took care of?" said Vergil with a frown on his face.

"relax bro she sent him on an impromptu vacation," said Dante

Vergil looked relieved.

"So what's our next move?" said dante

"Izzy suggested that we should take out the other factories in case they have back up," said kat

Vergil frowned and gave them both a strange look.

"and you had objections to this?" said Vergil

"Izzy reacted badly to something she saw, we thought it best she cool down first," said Dante

Izzy snorted.

"what did you see?" said Vergil

"The second secret ingredient is adrenaline taken directly from humans after they are force feed that crap," said Izzy

"did you free them?" said Vergil

"in a manner of speaking," said Izzy

Vergil looked stunned for a few minutes. He quickly recovered and moved towards Izzy.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, I can't help but feel I should have at least given you some sort of warning," said Vergil

Izzy smirked at him. Oh, the kid was good, very manipulative. She would have to really watch this one.

"glad to see some things haven't changed," said Izzy

Vergil looked shocked for a second.

"I'm sorry?" said Vergil

Izzy reached up and rested her hands on his cheeks.

"I'm not a recruit sugar and that particular brand of trickery never worked on me even when you were cute enough to pull off the puppy dog eyes," said Izzy

Dante chuckled at the shocked look on Vergil's face.

"I missed you," said Vergil

"I missed you too sweetheart but first things first, come give your aunt izz a hug," said Izzy

she held out her arms and Vergil wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face into her shoulder and held her tight. She rubbed his back.

"you're not in this alone anymore, stop trying to take on everything okay?" said Izzy

Vergil reluctantly nodded and pulled back some. Izzy held open her arms

"both of you" said Izzy

Dante came forward and enveloped her in a hug too.

"I can't believe, I didn't recognize you two when I first saw you," said Izzy

she leaned into both of them and closed her eyes and just enjoyed the moment.

"I'm so sorry," said Izzy softly.

Vergil was the first to realize what she was apologizing for.

"no...Izzy don't... it's not your fault" said Vergil

she shook her head

"still I should have been here," said Izzy

he put his hands on her cheeks.

"Izzy look at me, there is no way you could have stopped him," said Vergil

"verge is right he had an army, dad barely got us out. You wouldn't have stood a chance" said dante

"I've taken out armies but you are probably right, knowing your father he would have done something stupid and heroic instead of running," said Izzy

"you've taken out armies?" said kat

the boys snorted and she could tell they didn't believe her.

"yep, just came back from a war before I got here," said Izzy

both boys frowned and gave Izzy a worried look. She held out her arms

"what you can't tell by the jacket?" said Izzy

They both frowned and shook their heads no because Izzy had always dressed weird and her current outfit was no exception. The jacket was the only article that looked vaguely military and it resembled something from the revolutionary war. The bustier with the skull and cross bone print beneath it and the purple and black tutu skirt didn't exactly scream warrior. Neither did the mismatched striped thigh highs held up by bright blue garter straps shoved into two different short boots. A top hat with a patchwork pattern and a pair of goggles rested on her head. Over the top of all that she still wore the lab coat from the virility factory. She looked more like she stepped off a concert stage than a battlefield

"Really?" said dante

"Yeah, do you remember the last time I visited?" said Izzy

"yeah we were about five, you brought us all these gifts. Including the swords" said Vergil

"I remember when you left you hugged us so tight it left bruises," said Dante

"I made the swords and I honestly thought I might never see you, boys, again. That is why I hugged you so tight before I came to visit you my people summoned me to war" said izzy

"you made the swords?" said Dante

Izzy nodded yes

"so it was a goodbye then?" said vergil

"yes, but with cool swords," said izzy

they both shrugged because they couldn't argue with that, the swords were pretty cool.

"What exactly did you do in a war?" said Dante

"ferry equipment, troops, drop a tank behind enemy lines, you know that kind of stuff," said izzy

"drop a tank?" said kat

izzy smirked at the girl.

"you've seen me drop a building into a sinkhole and a tank is a surprise?" said izzy

"so you dropped tanks where they were needed, that's not fighting," said Vergil Izzy smirked at him.

"yes, but it only takes one tank to really screw up your day," said Izzy

"so who won the war?" said Dante

izzy's joking looks quickly vanished.

"no one," said Izzy

Dante still wore that teasing look but it slowly vanished when he noticed Izzy's sober look.

"what do you mean no one won?" said Vergil

"yeah isn't there usually at least one side standing?" said Kat

izzy looked at the floor and then broke away from the boys and paced a few feet away.

"not always," said Izzy

"What happened?" said Dante

Izzy stared at the symbol.

"I miscalculated. I was tired I hadn't slept for going on three weeks. It should have been a routine run, take our troops in and rescue the prisoners get out before they even knew we were there. Except I was so tired I couldn't see straight, I could barely stand. I should have told them no but they insisted that the prisoners we're about to be executed. So I agreed. I made the gate and then must have passed out while we were inside" said izzy

they gave her confused looks.

"why would it matter if you were awake?" said kat

izzy snorted and turned towards the girl.

"because when I make them, my gates have no true anchor point they are simply energy that I redirect from point a to point b," said izzy

"so when you passed out you lost control," said vergil

"yeah, it only took an instant of inattention for the gate to collapse, all that energy rushed back out of the gate through the two points, "said izzy

everyone in the room looked confused.

"it obliterated both ends of the gate, there was no one left standing because there was nothing left for them to stand on," said Izzy

the almost identical looks of shock on everyone's face; would have been funny under any other circumstances.

"that's why you're here, you needed someone to tell you that it's going to be alright," said kat

Izzy froze in shock and turned to regard the girl for a few minutes. kat squirmed under the intense gaze izzy was giving her.

"psychic?" said izzy

kat nodded yes.

"a word of warning don't do that when I summon," said izzy

"I won't," said kat

izzy wandered over to a chair and flopped down into it like a puppet with its strings cut.

"I was right wasn't I?" said kat

izzy glared at her for a moment

"yes, you were right. Eva was the only one in the universe that could tell me the forest wasn't on fire while I choked on the ashes" said Izzy

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit lost what do you mean by nothing left to stand on?" said Vergil

izzy sighed and sat back up.

"okay physics lesson. My gates are essentially contents under pressure, a lot of power shoved through an itty bitty tube or massive one depending on what I'm transporting. If that tube collapses the energy has to go somewhere" said izzy

"that somewhere being point A and B," said dante

kat frowned

"so what happened to point A and B?" said kat

"they no longer exist," said izzy

"what was point A and B?" said vergil

Izzy sighed and closed her eyes briefly.

"they were my homeworld and theirs, on the bright side I ended the war. Got any alcohol?" said Izzy

Vergil stared at her in shock, then calmly walked across the floor to a cabinet and opened it. He pulled out a bottle of what looked like scotch and walked over to Izzy. He handed over the bottle without saying a word. Izzy popped the lid and downed about half of the bottle as if she was chugging a soda.

She went to raise it again and dante pulled it out of her hands. He made a snorting sound and glared at vergil. He set the bottle down by kat and walked back to izzy. He knelt down to her level.

"it's going to be all right Izzy, we're here for you okay," said dante

he gently pulled her into a hug. Izzy gratefully accepted the embrace and buried her head in his shoulder.


End file.
